Rasputin’s Bastards

From a hidden city deep in the Ural mountains, they walked the world as the coldest of Cold Warriors, under the command of the Kremlin and under the power of their own expansive minds. They slipped into the minds of Russia’s enemies with diabolical ease, and drove their human puppets to murder, and worse. They moved as Gods. And as Gods, they might have remade the world. But like the mad holy man Rasputin, who destroyed Russia through his own powerful influence . . . in the end, the psychic spies for the Motherland were only in it for themselves.

It is the 1990s. The Cold War is long finished. In a remote Labrador fishing village, an old woman known only as Babushka foresees her ending through the harbour ice, in the giant eye of a dying kraken—and vows to have none of it. Beaten insensible and cast adrift in a life raft, ex-KGB agent Alexei Kilodovich is dragged to the deck of a ship full of criminals, and with them he will embark on a journey that will change everything he knows about himself. And from a suite in an unseen hotel in the heart of Manhattan, an old warrior named Kolyokov sets out with an open heart, to gather together the youngest members of his immense, and immensely talented, family. They are more beautiful, and more terrible, than any who came before them. They are Rasputin’s bastards. And they will remake the world.

ISBN: 9781926851594eISBN: 9781926851662

Other CZP books by David Nickle:

Praise for David Nickle

“The stories [in Knife Fight and Other Struggles] are sui generis in presentation, veering from the discombobulating nightmare that is “Basements” to the squid-laden eco-satire “Wylde’s Kingdom” to the sci-fi love of “Loves Means Forever.” When it comes to this book, only two things are certain; the stories never travel where you expect, and David Nickle is a monumental talent.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Believe the hype: David Nickle is very good.”—The Globe and Mail

“David Nickle is my favorite kind of writer. His stories are dark, wildly imaginative, and deeply compassionate—even when they’re laced with righteous anger. He’s at the top of his game in this new book of short stories, and that’s about as good as it gets.”—Nathan Ballingrud, author of North American Lake Monsters

“David Nickle is Canada’s answer to Stephen King. His writing charms even as it slices like a blade between the ribs: sharp, subtle, and never less than devastating.”—Helen Marshall, author of Hair Side, Flesh Side and Gifts for the One Who Comes After

“Rasputin’s Bastards is a testament to the fact Nickle can write anything.”—The Winnipeg Review

“Eutopia is the kind of book I’d recommend to literary snobs who badmouth the horror genre while completely ignoring the multitudes of splendid books on the shelves. Nickle comes from a different cut of cloth than a lot of current horror authors. He’s created a unique world that’s a far cry from any of the current trends in horror fiction. In fact, his style seems generations removed from all the apocalyptic zombie and vampire novels on the market. Thankfully, he understands that the most important ingredients are strong characters, originality, and a compelling story. That his novel is also dark, frightening, and beautifully written is just icing on the cake.”—Chris Hallock, All Things Horror

“Few writers do psychosexual horror as well as Toronto’s David Nickle, and with The ’Geisters he’s back with another tale of voluptuous terror and the supernatural.”—The Toronto Star